Mayoral challengers take aim at Leake, Brown

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Mayoral challengers take aim at Leake, Brown

The Town of Dumfries will not be the only town this year with a competitive race for mayor as challenges have stepped up during the past week to take on Haymarket Mayor David Leake and Quantico Mayor Kevin Brown, both of whom have filed for re-election. Quantico is set to pit two well-known local politicians against each other as former Mayor Iris Tharp officially filed her paperwork to run against the first-term incumbent Brown. Meanwhile in Haymarket, first-time candidate Josh Mattox filed to run against Leake.

Mayoral challengers take aim at Leake, Brown

The Town of Dumfries will not be the only town this year with a competitive race for mayor as challengers have stepped up during the past week to take on Haymarket Mayor David Leake and Quantico Mayor Kevin Brown, both of whom have filed for re-election.

Quantico is set to pit two well-known local politicians against each other as former Mayor Iris Tharp officially filed her paperwork to run against the first-term incumbent Brown. Tharp lost to Brown by 10 votes, 56-46, in 2012 after defeating Brown for mayor by seven votes, 58-51, in 2010.

Tharp ran uncontested for mayor in 2008, the same year Brown led all council member candidates with 76 votes. Tharp edged out Brown for one of five council seats in 2006, the first time Brown ever appeared on the ballot.

This marks the sixth election cycle in a row Tharp will appear on the ballot, having won a spot on council in the 2004 election.

Also in the eastern town, seven candidates have filed to run for town council. Incumbent council members Earlene Clinton, Mary Lou DiMarzio, Russell Kuhns and Virginia Macfarlan are all set to appear on the May 6 ballot again along with challengers Sammoto Dabney, Tom Davis and John Hallman.

Council member Peggy Alexander is the only incumbent who has yet to file for re-election.

Meanwhile in the western end of the county, Josh M. Mattox is set to take on the first-term mayor Leake in Haymarket.

Mattox said during a brief phone interview on Friday afternoon that he moved from Burke to Haymarket in Sept. 2012, so this will be his first time on the local ballot.

Only one candidate has filed to run for town council so far: first-term council member Steven Aitken, an ally of Leake.

Prince William Office of Elections administrative manager of elections Diana Dutton offered a reminder to Haymarket voters on Friday that the general election in Haymarket this year will take place at Town Hall, located at 15000 Washington Street, instead of the old PACE West School on the eastern end of town.

Dutton mentioned that there is an agenda item for the Board of County Supervisors to consider in March that would relocate future elections back to the old PACE West School property, which is now run and owned by the private defense management and technology contractor Quality Business Engineering (QBE).

“The owner wants us there,” said Dutton of the QBE property.

So far, no candidates have declared runs for town council in Dumfries in Occoquan.